For Dr. Jesse Lewis, a man who has made both his
living and his mark in media, it’s only fitting that his career can be traced
back to a magazine article.

He was studying in the Miles College library in Birmingham,
Ala. in the early-1950s when he came across an Advertising Age story about a marketing company employing college students to promote
various consumer products on campuses.

The piece inspired Lewis to hire students on a dozen
or so African-American college campuses to market everything from cigarettes to
hair products.

“I came to college with no car and no money, and I left with
a bank account and a brand-new car,” Lewis recalls. “I knew nothing about how
to merchandise or advertise a product… I just read that article and thought it
was something I could do.”

His intuition turned out to be right. In 1954, Lewis founded
the country’s first black-owned PR and advertising agency. His firm focused
exclusively on the black consumer.

“In order to sell someone something, you have to ask them to
buy it,” he explains. “At the time, nobody out there was attempting to sell to
black people... so I had a goldmine.”

“I convinced them that if they hired me, I’d open doors in
the black community where Coca-Cola would be prevalent,” he says. “And that’s
what happened.”

A natural salesman and entrepreneur, Lewis challenged
himself to sell 10 cases of Coke a week by producing radio commercials and
print ads targeting and featuring blacks -- from celebrities such as Willie
Mays, Sugar Ray Robinson and the Harlem Globetrotters -- to Mary
Alexander, the first African-American female model to appear in Coke
advertising. Lewis scouted, hired and even photographed the talent. When
mainstream newspapers refused to publish ads featuring black models, his team
printed them on sheets of paper to pass out in stores serving the black
community.

Lewis worked with fellow African-American PR pioneer Moss
Kendrix and Coca-Cola advertising director Deloney Sledge to build a national
network of ambassadors to sell Coca-Cola ads to black newspapers and radio
stations.

“My job was to go around the country and get Coca-Cola
bottlers to hire minorities,” he explained. “We built an organization of about
35 to 40 people.”

The ideal candidates were college-educated, sales-oriented
professionals with connections in the black community. “We had a lot to choose
from because blacks were not being hired at the time,” Lewis said. “If I went
to a town to interview someone, I could find 300 to 400 people.”

Lewis entered the newspaper business in 1963 during the
height of the civil rights movement, founding The Birmingham Times to document and celebrate the city’s African-American
community.

At the time, Birmingham’s daily newspapers only mentioned
blacks in the crime section. And the city’s other minority papers solely
covered racial segregation and discrimination issues. Lewis had a different
editorial vision.

“I thought we needed a publication to record the history of
black people from a positive
standpoint... all their accomplishments and the little things they do,” he
said. “This is our 49th year of printing and 50th year in
business… that’s how we’ve survived.”

Coca-Cola was there once again to support Lewis’ fledgling
enterprise as its first advertiser, backing the paper before its debut issue
went to press.

“If it wasn’t for the Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling Company, I wouldn’t have a nickel or a
nail,” he said with a smile. “With everything I’ve ever been involved in, they've
come to the table immediately and said, ‘We want to help.’”

Dr. Jesse Lewis, 89, is founder and publisher of The Birmingham Times. His marketing firm developed some of the first ads targeting and featuring African-Americans in the 1950s, including several campaigns for Coca-Cola.

(Photo Credit: )

Lewis scouted and even photographed African-American talent featured in Coke campaigns. When
mainstream newspapers refused to publish ads featuring black models, his team
printed them on sheets of paper to pass out in stores.

(Photo Credit: )

Lewis was responsible for hiring a national network of advertising reps to help Coca-Cola bottlers reach black consumers.

(Photo Credit: )

A natural salesman, Lewis challenged
himself to sell 10 cases of Coca-Cola a week by producing radio commercials and
print ads. He hired Mary
Alexander, the first black female model to appear in Coke
advertising, when she was a student at Clark College in Atlanta.

(Photo Credit: )

The Birmingham Coca-Cola Bottling Company was one of Lewis' first clients when he started the country's first black-owned PR and advertising agency in 1954. The bottler also was the first advertiser in The Birmingham Times, the weekly newspaper Lewis founded in 1963.

(Photo Credit: )

In 2013, journalist Ted Koppel interviewed Lewis as part of an event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the civil rights struggle in Birmingham and recognizing
business pioneers in the city's black community.

(Photo Credit: )

Paying it Forward

Throughout his decorated career, the World War II veteran
has worn countless professional hats, from serial entrepreneur, to educator, to
political consultant. In 1975, he became the first African-American appointed
to Alabama Governor George Wallace’s cabinet when he was named director of the
state’s highway and traffic safety department.

“I’ve owned or partnered in about 19 different businesses,”
Lewis told The Tuscaloosa News in November 2013. “I’ve owned every kind of
business you can dream of. I never looked backwards, and I learned
something from everything I owned.”

Now, at 89 years old -- “I drink four Cokes a day… that’s
what makes me look young” -- Lewis says he has the responsibility to pass on
what he’s seen and learned to the next generation.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands and more than 3,800 beverage choices. Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world's most valuable and recognizable brands, our company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands, 18 of which are available in reduced-, low- or no-calorie options. Our billion-dollar brands include Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, Fanta, Sprite, Dasani, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Del Valle, Georgia and Gold Peak. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, we are the No. 1 provider of both sparkling and still beverages. More than 1.9 billion servings of our beverages are enjoyed by consumers in more than 200 countries each day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates.